American West Metals, an Australian mining company focused on clean energy and base metals, is advancing plans to unlock the value of its West Desert project in Utah, which hosts the largest known indium resource in the US.

Indium’s importance is growing, particularly with increasing demand in high-tech industries, and the West Desert offers an opportunity to establish a domestic source of indium.

“The incoming Trump administration in the US has sent a clear message to the market that it will support the establishment of domestic supply chains for critical and strategic metals,” said MD Dave O’Neill. “With the US being a 100% importer of indium, the large indium resource at West Desert has potential to establish a reliable domestic supply of this metal that will eliminate the USA’s reliance on foreign sources.”

American West has already begun discussions with US government entities to explore potential funding support and collaborative opportunities to fast-track the development of the West Desert project.

“We are actively working with US government agencies to explore funding and other opportunities to advance the West Desert project. We believe this resource could be central to the development of a secure, domestic supply chain for indium, which will be crucial for both economic and national security reasons,” said O’Neill.

Meanwhile, American West is exploring strategic alternatives to unlock the project’s full potential. This includes considering options like a spin-out of the West Desert asset into a separate, ASX-listed entity or entering into an earn-in agreement with a major mining company. These options would allow American West to focus its resources on advancing its flagship Storm Copper project, while also securing the future development of its indium-rich West Desert deposit.

While West Desert also contains significant resources of copper, zinc, and silver in addition to indium, it is the indium resource that is drawing particular attention owing to its critical importance in the technology sector and its scarcity in the US.